2019 – 20 League Preview: Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference

The Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference began athletic competition in 1990. This will be the first school year with the current 7-team format. The league’s members are located in Crawford County, Marion County and Richland County. The league features Clear Fork High School, Galion High School, Marion Harding High School, Ontario High School, Pleasant High School, River Valley High School and Shelby High School. <strong> </strong> <strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> Ariyah Douglas – Marion Harding Emma Randall – Shelby Carleigh Pearson – Ontario Sophia Niese – Shelby Alexis Stevens – River Valley &nbsp; <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> Shelby returns a lot of talent from last year’s undefeated Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship team. The Whippets, who finished 14-0 in conference play and 22-3 overall, will be led by Emma Randall and Sophia Niese. Shelby has challenged themselves will a very tough non-conference schedule that should have them ready for the post-season. Both teams out of Marion – Harding and Pleasant – will have a legitimate chance to dethrone Shelby. Although Pleasant will have to replace Erika Linder, they have a number of more than capable scoring options to pick up the slack. In the 2^nd match-up last year, Pleasant and Shelby had a classic – ending with a 4-point Shelby win. Nicole Flock will help Ariyah Douglas in Harding’s efforts to beat Shelby. Two years ago, River Valley won 20 games and made a deep post-season run. Alexis Stevens has player-of-the-year potential in the conference and Allyson Johnson and Taylor Hecker complete the 3-headed monster that makes River Valley as dangerous as anyone entering the 2019-2020 season. Clear Fork, Ontario and Galion are all entering the 2^nd and 3^rd years with relatively new coaches. Randy Pore at Clear Fork, Mitch Willeke at Ontario and Shani Rush at Galion are all laying the foundation for future years at their respective schools. There are some outstanding players to build around too; Carleigh Pearson at Ontario, Brooke Robinson and Morgan Galco at Clear Fork and Morgan Kimble at Galion to name a few. &nbsp; <strong>3 Big Games: </strong> Harding @ Pleasant on Friday, December 6^th Buckeye Central @ Shelby on Monday, December 23^rd Bellevue @ Shelby on Tuesday, February 11^th <strong> </strong> <strong>2 Fun Facts: </strong> Ariyah Douglas is one of many players in the conference who have a realistic shot at reaching the 1000 point milestone this winter. It’s particularly special for Douglas to have this opportunity because she is only a junior. Last year, Douglas was 3^rd in the league in scoring and also led it in assists and steals. Shelby will be participating in the prestigious Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland over Martin Luther King Jr weekend. They will face the host Berlin Hiland Hawks in the last game of the special event. <strong> </strong> <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Shelby